U.S. stock futures drop on Google, Caterpillar results

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures declined on Friday, with earnings misses from Google, Caterpillar and Ericsson and an in-line quarter from Microsoft taking some of the momentum away from a mostly upbeat earnings season so far. See full story.

Google earnings jump in second quarter, but miss targets

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Google Inc. saw earnings jump more than 28% in the second quarter, though the bottom line came in slightly beneath Wall Street's expectations for the Internet search giant. See full story.

Citigroup profit rises 18%

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Citigroup said Friday that its second quarter profit rose 18%, driven by strong growth in international and alternative investments businesses. See full story.

Caterpillar profit falls 21%, missing expectations

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Caterpillar Inc. on Friday said weakness in its North American business pushed profit 21% below year-ago levels, causing it to miss Wall Street's earnings forecast. See full story.

China lifts interest rates to cool 'surging' economy

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- China moved to cool the economy late Friday with a 0.27 percentage-point hike in interest rates just a day after scorching GDP data showed the nation on track for its fastest annual growth in more than a decade. See full story.

David Callaway: Handling private-equity hubris -- the Chinese way

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Imagine how much dithering, grandstanding, and all-around public hand-wringing we could avoid over scandals and other controversial issues if we just followed China's lead and ordered an execution every time someone messed up? See full story.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The grill is on, the fish is cleaned and the crab is cracked, so what are you going to pour? On a warm summer night under the stars with family and friends, a good glass of wine is essential. But -- no reason to spend lavishly on such an event. See full story.

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